ECONOMICS
Our vision for the Economics Department is to create an engaging and intellectually stimulating environment where students develop a deep understanding of economic theories, principles, and real-world applications. We aim to inspire critical thinking, analytical skills, and a passion for economic inquiry. Through rigorous coursework, experiential learning opportunities, and a commitment to fostering global awareness, we prepare our students to excel in higher education and their future careers, becoming insightful and responsible contributors to the global economy.
Post 16 at WG6
Year 12 Theme 1
| Topic | Learning Outcomes | |
| Term 1 | Nature of economics How Markets work | Understand the difference between Positive and normative statements Understand, construct and interpret a PPFs Understand the benefits and drawback of Specialisation Be able to construct and analyse Demand and Supply diagrams and understand how price can be determined Be able to calculate and interpret price elasticity of demand |
| Term 2 | How markets work | Be able to calculate and understand Income elasticity, cross price elasticity and price elasticity of supply Understand the factors of the Price mechanism Using supply and demand diagrams be able to understand the concept of Consumer and producer surplus Be able to construct and understand Taxes and subsidies diagrams Markets in action- real world examples |
| Term 3 | Market failure | Understand the concept of rational decision making Understand the impact of negative and positive Externalities on society Be able to highlight Information gaps and the impact this has on a market Evaluate the need for public goods Markets in action- real world examples |
| Term 4 | Government intervention | Understand how the government uses the following to correct market failure: -Taxes and subsidies -Price controls -Regulation/provision of information -Other intervention methods |
| Term 5 | Government failure | Understand ways in which the government may make society worse off when trying to correct market failure through government intervention |
| Term 6 | Exam technique Introduction to Theme 3 | Students will begin to practice exam questions with greater frequency, paying specific attention to the demands of each question Students will begin to look at some of the more challenging topics in Theme 3, such as Costs, revenue and profits, market structures. |
Y12 Theme 2
| Topic | Learning Outcomes | |
| Term 1 | Measures of economics performance Circular Flow of income Measures of national income Business/Trade cycle Aggregate demand Aggregate supply | Understand how the economy can be measured with macroeconomic indicators Understand how money flows around the economy. Be able to distinguish leakages and injections Be able to calculate and interpret the methods of measuring national income Understand the natural cycle of the economy Understand the main factors which influence each of the components and how changes in these factors would affect AD. Understand aggregate supply (AS) and distinguishes between the short run and long-run AS curves. Students need to understand the main factors which influence each of these. This topic also introduces students to the debate between the Keynesian and classical schools of economic thought as to the shape of the long-run AS curve |
| Term 2 | Keynesian VS Classical Aggregate supply Output gaps The multiplier Inflation/Deflation Unemployment | Understand the differing viewpoint in relation to aggregate supply. Be able to construct diagrams to represent this Understand the concept of an output gap and its implications. Be able to a construct a diagram to show this Be able to calculate and interpret the multiplier figure. Understand the implications of this Understand the causes, consequences and calculations of inflation and deflation Be able to distinguish the differing types of unemployment. Be able to evaluate the impact on the economy. Be able to calculate the unemployment rate. |
| Term 3 | Economic growth Demand side polices – Fiscal and monetary Laffer curve Gini coefficient/lorenz curve | Understand the causes and consequences of economic growth Understand the differing policies that are used to stimulate the economy my manipulation of aggregate demand. Evaluate the effect of these policies on the wider economy. Be able to explain this and represent in diagram form Be able to evaluate the relationship between government revenue and tax rate Understand show income and wealth inequality is measured |
| Term 4 | Supply die polices Balance of payment | Understand the differing policies that can be used to influence Aggregate supply and the impact they can have on the economy. Be able to represent this in a diagram Understand in the inflows and outflows of money in an economy. Be able to analyse the impact on the economy |
| Term 5 | Macroeconomic objective conflicts Great depression and financial crisis | Be able to recognise how differing macroeconomic objectives may conflict with others Understand why both events happened and the impact on the national/global economy. Understands what policies were used off the back of the financial crisis in 2008 |
| Term 6 | Exam technique Introduction to theme 4 | Students will begin to practice exam questions with greater frequency, paying specific attention to the demands of each question Students will begin to look at the more challenging aspects of theme 4. This will include, trade tariffs, quota’s and comparative advantage. |
Y13 Theme 3
| Topic | Learning Outcomes | |
| Term 1 | Revenues, costs and profits | Understand the theories of the firm. Students are required to understand the relationships between total, average and marginal revenue. They should understand how PED relates to revenues. Similarly, students will need to calculate and understand the relationships between different costs. An appreciation of the short and long run is essential here. Economies and diseconomies of scale should be covered. When looking at profit, students should explore supernormal and normal profit, and understand the short- and long-run shut-down points. |
| Term 2 | Market structures | Students will consider efficiency and the following market structures: perfect competition, monopoly, monopolistic competition and oligopoly. Students will also explore monopsonists and contestability. It is useful to look at real world examples to support understanding of market structures. |
| Term 3 | Business objectives Business growth | To be able to understand the key goals of businesses. Profit maximisation can be connected with rational decision making and the assumption of profit maximising should be challenged. Students should consider that people running businesses are likely to have different goals and therefore may revenue and sales maximise. Understanding what satisficing is and why it is likely to occur is useful here. This topic requires diagrams and students should be able to produce diagrams and use formulae to illustrate different business objectives. Understand why some businesses remain small and why others might grow, and how they do this. When looking at how businesses grow students will consider the advantages and disadvantages of each method. Students will also explore reasons for, and the impact of, demergers. |
| Term 4 | Government intervention | Understand areas have been identified where there is a role for the government to bring about better outcomes; for example, in limiting mergers that would create firms with market power, limiting exploitation by monopolies and promoting competition, and protecting suppliers against monopsonists. In this topic students will explore the impact and limits of government intervention |
| Term 5 | Labour market | Understand the impact of the labour market. It is important to emphasise that when looking at the labour market, students are exploring specific markets: for example, the labour market for Maths teachers or unskilled agricultural workers. Students should explore labour demand and labour supply, appreciating factors influencing each of these. Students should also consider occupational and geographical immobility and how they affect the labour market, and policies that can be used to reduce immobility. Minimum and maximum wages should also be explored. |
| Term 6 | Exam technique in preparation for external exams | Students will begin to practice exam questions with greater frequency, paying specific attention to the demands of each question |
Y13 Theme 4
| Topic | Learning Outcomes | |
| Term 1 | International economics | This section introduces economics in a global context by considering globalisation: its causes and consequences; the basis of free trade; protectionism; the balance of payments; exchange rates; and international competitiveness. Students should be aware of how all these factors influence the UK and international trade. |
| Term 2 | ||
| Term 3 | Poverty and Inequality Emerging and developing economics | Understand the different causes and consequences of poverty and inequality in both developed and developing countries should be considered in this section. It should be noted that, while absolute poverty is decreasing globally, some countries have experienced increases in inequality over the last 25 years. The possible reasons for these changes should be explored. Understand the ways in which development may be measured, and the nature and causes of constraints on growth and development. They should understand the nature of different measures to promote growth and development, and be able to evaluate them, remembering that the validity of different measures is dependent on the particular characteristics of the country undergoing development. For all parts of this section, case studies may be particularly useful. For example, it might be helpful to consider at least one Asian country, one African country and one South American country. |
| Term 4 | The financial sector | Understand the role of the financial sector in the economy. Including the role of financial markets, market failure in the financial markets and the functions of central banks |
| Term 5 | Role of the state in the macroeconomy | Understand the concepts of fiscal policy, taxes as a leakage from the circular flow, and direct and indirect taxes were introduced. Students are now required to consider the macroeconomic effects of changes in taxation more fully; reasons for changes in the size and composition of public expenditure and the significance of its level for the economy; and the significance of the state of public finances |
| Term 6 | Exam technique in preparation for external exams | Students will begin to practice exam questions with greater frequency, paying specific attention to the demands of each question |
